America is feeding a growing machine. A media monster that is hiding in every television across the country is manifesting itself into every niche of society. The startling fact is that this is far from exaggeration, considering that “the amount of time the average American will spend watching TV commercials: one entire year of his or her life.” From this seething blast of advertising, we are continually bombarded and constantly thrashed with an overwhelming need to consume, to spend money, and to improve our humdrum lives with material possessions—a practice that has been a part of American culture since the inception of capitalism. In 1987, the number of shopping centers in the U.S. surpassed the number of high schools. Nevertheless, I am not going to go off on a philosophical rant and attempt to convince you that material possessions are the root of all evil, but I think one needs to recognize the monumental consequence consumerism has on the environment. Every element of the production process, from the wrapping and cardboard packaging draped snuggly around your new toy to the energy put into its creation and the raw materials harvested to create its parts, have an impact on the global ecological balance. To put that into perspective, the waste generated each year in the U.S. would fill a convoy of 10-ton garbage trucks 145,000 miles long, over halfway to the moon.
So why are we polluting our own planet for the sake of a gadget of supposed modern convenience? Because there is money to be had of course! Corporate propaganda is continually spewed into mainstream media to reach you, the consumer, to feed an ever evolving, ever growing consumerist treadmill that fuels an economy built on peddling and over-production. I know you’re still a little skeptical, but let’s take a look at just what this supposedly healthy economic situation has created: “In the last 200 years the United States has lost 50 percent of its wetlands, 90 percent of its northwestern old-growth forests, 99 percent of its tall grass prairie, and up to 490 species of native plants and animals with another 9,000 now at risk.” So the question is, do we really have to submit to a conglomerate media’s whims and provocations? The answer is a resounding no because the truth is that so many viable solutions are already in place ranging from corporate packaging reclamation programs employed in Germany, to stores that stock environmentally friendly products like those that can be purchased simply 10 minutes from RPI at the Honest Weight Food Co-op. All I am asking is to take a moment of clarity and realize that your actions, however small they may be, have repercussions that affect the health of the environment, its wildlife, and our own human health. Moreover, all of these parameters of consumerism and its connection to daily life are sensitively tied together through an ecological planetary necessity that is of paramount concern.
